Where are the Questioning Minds?

For centuries the world has enjoyed a naturally inquisitive and sometimes even a mystical relationship between a teacher and a student. From the dialects of Socrates and Plato to the revere that Kahlil Gibran bestowed upon his teachers, we know there is something enlightening that is to be cherished between a teacher and his student. Kahlil Gibran said almost a century ago:

“The teacher who walks in the shadow of the temple, among his followers, gives not of his wisdom but rather of his faith and his lovingness. If he is indeed wise he does not bid you enter the house of wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind.”

The ability to ask questions shows not only curiosity in a person but it also exhibits interest, readiness and courage to go beyond what is already known. Simple curiosity which results in asking questions in search of answers must be promoted in a society if the young minds are to be encouraged to enter the house of wisdom.

However, Islam has evolved a strange tradition. The holy Koran, a book that starts with the message, Iqra, meaning read, delivered to the illiterate Muhammad does not seem to allow its followers to ask questions. Islam, we are told by Muslim leaders, is a religion that orders full submission from its followers without allowing them the ability to ask questions while still remaining within the faith. Such is the structure upon which most modern day Muslim societies have been formed. Just like any other society, religion has permeated into the social, cultural and familial traditions in Pakistan.

In Pakistan, a society dominated by religious fanatics and opportunistic leaders, authority is conferred upon some individuals and groups of the society, and it is not considered appropriate to ask questions. A woman may not question the authority of religion or the male members of her immediate family, extended family and the whole society. It is hilarious how the so-called progressive individuals and the religious fanatics act essentially in the same way. How much education a woman gets to receive, how much authority will she be allowed to question, how many traditions can she break; these are all things that may vary from one social class to another but the overall structure of how rights are dispensed remain intact. The right to freedom of expression also depends on the degree of religiosity that a group feels comfortable with.

It wasn’t long ago that I had a heart-warming conversation with a Maulana Israr Ahmed. Maulana Israr Ahmed is the founder and head of Tanzeem-e-Islami, an international religious movement based in Pakistan that is dedicated to "establishing the ascendancy of Islam over all man-made systems of life". One may legitimately ask which version of Islam. Islam, the religion of Rabia Basri or Islam as practiced by Saudi Arabia or Islam as it is imposed by the likes of Maulana Israr Ahmed.

Maulana Israr is the author of several books and hosts a TV show where he propagates fundamentalist views on women’s rights and freedom. So, I asked Maulana how much freedom he thinks a woman should be allowed. He pronounced the non-segregated society of today as being against Islam. Maulana believes that a woman should only be given primary education and employed in a small scale homegrown industry.

“While she may go out, but only wearing a burka. This is her second circle of protection. This burka is her fort. And then third, the houses should be built so that non-kin males would only sit in the guest room and will not come inside. Because in our society women must remain under the veil. And there’s a list in Koran of men who can see a woman bare-faced. And a woman’s fourth veil is her body. Her whole body should be covered, except for face, hands and feet. Not even a son should see any bare part of his mother’s body. A father should not see any bare part of his daughter’s body. This is the veil. We have to keep women under these four veils.”

Rumor has it that the Prophet Muhammad said, ‘The people are assembled on the day of Judgment according to the purposes of their hearts’. He did not mention anything about segregation based on gender. This is the very reason why one needs to go in depth into what Maulana believes and wants for women.

For those who do not know, Maulana is a title of respect, technically reserved for Muslim scholars who are knowledgable about Islam and have studied under a scholar or at a religious institution called a Madrassa. Now a Madrassa is the same place where thousands of young Muslim boys are molested silently by these Maulanas every year. But that’s another debate for another day.

A Maulana’s interpretation of Koran may not necessarily be the most reliable interpretation but he is an influential figure in the country nonetheless. No matter how uncomfortable the West may feel with Maulana’s vision, the fact remains that this Maulana and a million others like him were made influential by the Western interest in the region. The disgust that the West feels towards repressive patriarchal, fundamentalist Pakistani society is a lot similar to the façade of repugnance that a pimp might feel for the profession of prostitution. It’s just business.

Pakistan is a patriarchal and repressive society with limited rights for masses. Before Pakistan the British India was also patriarchal and repressive. But hundreds of years before British India ever existed, the region was anything but patriarchal and the religion of Islam was anything but repressive. Hindus and Muslims used to live under laws based in local custom in the pre-British India. The British rulers came with a condemnation of Indian customs and blamed them for India’s backwardness. The creation of religious identities was also purely political, based on the all-time famous British policy of Divide-And-Rule. In the census the British categorized the Indian people according to religion and viewed and treated Hindus and Muslims as separate from each other. Like any other colony, freedom of speech was only partial in British India. Repressing different opinions and dialects usually seeks to help the colonizers legitimize their presence in a foreign land. It is exactly that practice which continues in the minds of many in today’s Pakistan.

Looking back in history, prior to colonialism, the region of South Asia was marked by great Sufi saints. The Sufis not only bridged the gap between the Hindus and the Muslims in the region through love, tolerance and poetry, but they also practiced a very liberal version of Islam. They pushed the boundaries in pursuit of love and truth.

Rabia Al-Basri was one such Sufi. It was the honesty and strength of her belief that allowed her to question the concept of afterlife and heaven and hell which supposedly directs a good Muslim onto the right and wrong paths of life. Rabia Al-Basri firmly believed in love of God for the sake of love and not out of fear. Rabia believed that God does not look upon outward forms of people. With the understanding that the outward form does not matter, but what matters is the inner purpose of the heart, Rabia Al-Basri not only questioned the existing notions and authorities but she walked in the way of God with her head held high like a free human.

Today with the paranoia of terrorism and war, basic rights and freedoms of people are taken away even in the United States of America, a country that takes great pride in being one of the founding fathers of democracy. In newer democracies, similarly and sometimes to a greater extent, people’s right of expression is taken away and they are in general not allowed to ask questions. Moreover, the recent history has witnessed the putting into power of Maulanas by the West in an attempt to fight communism and the sector that got most affected as a result was that of women. They cannot question their family members, their political or spiritual leaders, their prophets and their God. They face the great danger of being ostracized by their loved ones and get consumed by what they thought was a simple inquiry. And I have seen it happen in my own family, which is among the most educated and liberal-minded folks in the lot.

Education is meant to enable a person to receive information from the external environment by allowing a certain amount of permeability and flexibility in human character. Unfortunately, the syllabus that is followed in Pakistan fails to accomplish that. Ironically, in order to challenge the entire mindset all we need is the will to do it and that is what’s lacking.